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"Many artists strive to uncover the sacred in everyday life. For painter Brian Petroski '99 that's not been hard to do. He wakes up every morning in a 119-year-old former Catholic church he shares with fellow artist and architect Travis Kline (and a pet iguana named Frederick, a golden retriever called Gelato, and a baby python).

The 14,000-square-foot Romanesque cathedral, which sits just outside Saratoga Springs in the Revolutionary War era town of Victory, was the perfect solution for the artists, both of whom had grown frustrated working in cramped apartments. While scouting for suitable studio space last year, Petroski spotted a for-sale sign on the former Notre Dame Visitation Church, which had been closed for almost fifteen years. Both of us thought, Wouldn't that be a great space?

Petroski influenced by the work of Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollack, and Jean-Claude Gaugy has his lush abstract oil and acrylic images of women and undersea life hanging in a living area at the front of the church. The richly hued, sensuous forms are inspired by time he spent in San Diego and Key West painting, bartending, and snorkeling through coral reefs. (Downhill skiing, another passion, is also represented.)

His studio is in the basement for now, and he uses the church's cavernous nave to host a dodge-ball league he recently formed (about twenty-five people showed up for the last game SHAMEFUL!). But Petroski and architect Kline are in the process of getting a zoning variance and grant money to transform the space with its vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, and gothic ornamentation into a multipurpose site for gallery exhibitions, live music events, and community gatherings. There is no venue like this in the area,Petroski says. "